Georgia is moderately regulated: file an annual declaration of intent with the state, teach five required subjects, write a yearly progress report, and test every three years starting in grade 3 — results stay with you.
Homeschooling is legal in Georgia and the requirements, while real, are mostly about paperwork you keep rather than paperwork you surrender. You file a declaration of intent with the Georgia Department of Education each year, teach a five-subject core, and assess your child periodically — but progress reports and test scores stay in your files, not the state's.
Georgia expects a school year of 180 days with about four and a half hours of instruction on school days, which sounds stricter than it feels: homeschool hours are efficient, and reading, projects, and educational outings all count.
Submit a declaration of intent to the Georgia Department of Education (online) within 30 days of starting your program and by September 1 each year after. It lists basic information: names, ages, address, and the school year dates.
Georgia requires instruction in reading, language arts, mathematics, social studies, and science, for the equivalent of 180 days of at least 4.5 hours (unless the child is physically unable). Keep attendance in your own records.
Beginning at the end of third grade, administer a nationally standardized test at least every three years. Write an annual progress assessment report in each required subject. Both stay in your records — you retain progress reports for at least three years and do not submit scores to the state.
Keep your declarations, attendance, annual progress reports, and test results organized by child. This file doubles as the backbone of a future transcript.
File your declaration of intent online with the Georgia Department of Education within 30 days of starting (then annually by September 1).
Withdraw your child from their current school in writing.
Plan a 180-day calendar covering the five required subjects at roughly 4.5 hours per school day.
Set reminders for the annual progress report and, from grade 3 on, the every-three-years standardized test.
Choose a curriculum that covers all five required subjects and tracks daily attendance and progress, so your annual report is a summary, not a scramble.
Whatever Georgia asks for — attendance, subject coverage, progress evidence, transcripts — Cullinan Academy tracks it automatically as your kids learn: verified mastery records, time-on-task, printable transcripts with GPA, and state report templates. No spreadsheet required.
No. You administer a nationally standardized test every three years starting after grade 3, but the results stay in your own records.
You do — a written assessment of your child's progress in each required subject, kept in your files for at least three years.
The teaching parent needs at least a high school diploma or GED. A private tutor teaching your child needs the same minimum.
You self-report attendance in your own records. The 180-day, 4.5-hour equivalent is the legal standard, but instruction counts broadly — reading, hands-on projects, and field trips included.
Parents issue the diploma. Georgia homeschool graduates are eligible for state universities and, with qualifying records, the HOPE scholarship — keep a thorough transcript.
This page is general information, not legal advice. Homeschool law changes, and districts sometimes apply it differently. Verify current requirements with your state's department of education or a local homeschool association before filing anything. Content last reviewed 2026-07.